Bayern Munich had a difficult summer transfer window as they missed out on several transfer targets. The biggest disappointment for Bayern was losing out on Florian Wirtz. The German attacking midfielder opted for a move to Liverpool over Bayern.
The Merseyside club paid a fee in excess of €120 million for the signing of Wirtz. It was a crushing blow for the Bundesliga champions as they had been working on a deal to sign Wirtz for several months. He was Die Roten’s top target for more than 12 months. Liverpool swooped in late and convinced the forward to move to England.
Missing out on Wirtz was the start of Die Roten’s disappointing transfer window. They pursued moves for Nico Williams and Bradley Barcola without any success. Williams signed a new deal at Athletic Bilbao, while Paris Saint-Germain had no plans to part ways with Barcola this summer.
The failure to clinch the signing of Wirtz has certainly disappointed Bayern chiefs. While talking to AZ, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insisted that he regrets missing out on the signing of Wirtz. Rummenigge is not part of Bayern’s day-to-day operations, but he is still part of the supervisory board and worked on a deal to sign Wirtz.
"Florian Wirtz would have been a great fit for FC Bayern. And I also believe it would have been better for him personally if he had made the move to Munich rather than Liverpool. We respect his decision, but I regret it a bit because he would have fit exactly into FC Bayern's strategy - we always want to sign the best German players. Maybe he'll reconsider at some point."Rummenigge on Florian Wirtz
Wirtz could become an option for Bayern in the future
Since Wirtz is 22, Bayern have a chance of signing him during the peak of his career. A future transfer will depend on how Wirtz performs at Liverpool. He has endured a difficult start to life at Merseyside, but he is likely to show his true potential once he gets used to the nature of the Premier League.
Die Roten had missed out on Leroy Sane in 2016 when he left Schalke to join Manchester City. Four years later, Sane arrived in Munich. He ended up becoming a key player for the Bavarian club before leaving on a free transfer to join Galatasaray in the summer. There is a good possibility of a similar scenario to play out in Wirtz’s case if Bayern continue to hold interest in him.
For the time being, Bayern have strengthened the attack by signing Luis Diaz from Liverpool on a permanent deal. The Colombian forward has enjoyed a terrific start to life in Munich. The Bavarian club also signed Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea on a loan deal. The emergence of Lennart Karl has ensured Bayern have decent options in the attack for this season despite missing out on Wirtz.